Some might say that Pro Evolution Soccer's continued inclusion of the AFC Champions League, Copa Libertadores, and Copa Sudamericana is a rather weak attempt at overcoming FIFA’s licensing stranglehold. But to read so cynically into the biggest annual club competitions held outside of Europe is to do both PES and its audience a disservice. Perhaps more than any other single element, that these championships are included in all their official regalia highlights exactly the kind of football fan PES is pitched at.

Broadly speaking, PES is a series for the more discerning follower of the beautiful game. The kind of person that’s impressed by being able to guide Colo Colo through a Copa Libertadores campaign is the same kind of person that appreciates the more technical approach PES 16 applies to its accomplished football mechanics. It continues the brilliant work done by its predecessor, offering up a more realistic alternative to the high-energy, kick-and-rush approach embraced by FIFA in recent years.

Where players like Marco Verratti, Yohan Cabaye, and Koke are lost amongst the sea of speedsters that dominate FIFA, in PES they shine. Such players harbour skills that are subtle and, therefore, more challenging to translate into the digital space. Verratti's ability to perform first touches that afford him space to deliver the perfect pass, Cabaye's never ending search for gaps between the opposition’s midfield and defensive lines, Koke's near superhuman ability to weight passes into holes between defenders... all of these feats are achievable here just as they are in real life.

In turn, using such players to the peak of their ability unlocks the capabilities of faster, more skilful players around them. While the football games of old forced you into passing the ball to your fastest players as quickly as possible in an attempt to get behind a line of defence, in PES the skill is in executing intelligent build-up play to create goal-scoring opportunities for your attackers without merely relying on the speed of their feet.

As a result, the entire team is valuable when both defending and attacking. PES is not about the further fetishisation of the abilities of the world's best players. Equally, it's not a game that revolves solely around the world's most glamorous teams. Simply put: playing as Real Madrid or Barcelona in PES 16 doesn't equate to just getting the ball to Ronaldo or Messi whenever the chance arises. It also means that, so long as you play sensibly and thoughtfully, the likes of Croatia and Serbia can hold their own against the very best teams in Europe, given the talented nature of their central players.

This will be a familiar story to anyone that played PES 15. This season's entry doesn't attempt to reinvent itself; instead it focuses on further improving the same systems that were so pleasing last year.

Attacking movement has been improved enormously, allowing you to further utilise the rare talents held by midfielders of the likes of Verratti and co. Whereas previously you had to rely on the one-two passing system to encourage your attackers to break forward towards goal, now they're more than happy to make such inroads themselves. This movement serves two primary functions. First, it allows your best passers to bring players into the game that hadn't been directly involved in earlier build-up play. Second, the extra movement gives the opposition defence more to think about and, subsequently, more opportunities to make a mistake.

It can’t be overstated just how much players intelligently making forward runs impacts the game. The increased movement up front creates a wealth of possibilities for your technically gifted players to turn into goals, while the various passing angles are diverse enough for you to make unusual plays.

Of course, excellent movement is of no benefit if you can't get the ball into the right areas. Tackling has been tweaked to allow for greater unpredictability, which can sometimes make gaining possession and creating the space for that killer pass more challenging. This comes as a result of an improved collision system that sees players jostle with one another, use their momentum to bundle others off of the ball, and take advantage of their speed in relation to an opponent to steal possession without having to make an actual tackle.

John Robertson
Based out of London, England, John is a freelance writer specialising in video games and popular culture. When not locked in front of a computer he's glued to the viewfinder of his camera. Canon only. Twitter@robertson_john